Way to Go! Colette Prainito of Bellport

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A Bellport student was one of several girls from the tri-state area tapped to join actress Dakota Fanning to help create opportunities for — and end discrimination against — girls worldwide.  

Colette Prainito, a third-grader at Kreamer Street Elementary School, is scheduled to be with the “I Am Sam” actress to light the Empire State Building red at sunset in celebration of the International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11th,  a day of observance declared by the United Nations.  She was selected based on a sponsorship that she and her father, Nick Prainito, have with the nonprofit organization Save the Children, which helps support youth in developing countries.  The father-daughter team currently sponsor a 10-year-old Indonesian girl named Diala.  

“I feel great to have a pen pal,” Colette, 8, said of Diala. “And I feel most proud of myself for doing the best I can.”  So far, Colette and Diala have corresponded via postal mail four times during the seven-month sponsorship. Colette has sent pictures of her and her father and drawings of her and Diala meeting one day.  “They are very close in age,” her father said. “A lot of things Diala loves, Colette loves the same.”

Colette also enjoys dancing and is a member of her school’s cheerleading team and chorus.
 

Reprinted from Newsday, September 30, 2016 By Michael R. Ebert